The Demigod Games (PJO/THG)

24 - Totally (Not) Screwed

-Piper

Yeeeah, we're fucked.

Sorry to put it that bluntly, but how else could I have put it, faced with the barrels of a hundred different guns, pointed at my face? Saying it like this, in a recording studio and looking back on the events, everything is sort of less freaky than when we were actually living this, and I may sound blasé right now, but I can guarantee I wasn't so brave on the wrong end of those rifles.

Percy, Jason and I were side by side, our comedic trio not so cocky in that moment. I grasped Jason's hand, sharing our strength. My mind was racing with all the possible outcomes of this encounter, and our chances right now were not good.

"Fugitives, you are to regain your cells in the instant..." a male voice blared using speakers overhead, "... and maybe we'll consider not executing you."

"Okay, sir, but what about our rights?" Jason announced, hiding the quaver in his voice.

The voice seemed to hesitate for an instant. What was Jason trying to do? We couldn't talk our way out of here, not when we didn't have a clue of where we were.

"What do you mean, prisoner?"

"I'm saying we have our right to freedom, and we cannot remain stuck here if we do not receive a clear explanation of our presence here."

Jason nudged my arm intensely, and suddenly it struck me - he was simply blabbering nonsense, buying us time.
Think, Piper. We need a plan.

A plan... a plan... Jason couldn't use his powers a second time, or he'd risk collapsing in fatigue. I scanned the room, desperately trying to grasp something, anything that could bring us out of here. At the far back of the room, groups of officers playing cards, drinking coffee, who had suddenly stopped their activities, concerned and visibly annoyed by the situation. To our right, roughly twenty feet away, the door, probably locked - we had no chance of escape if we just made a dash for the exit.
To our left...

Oh, schist.

"Percy," I whispered to my left, giving him a discreet nudge with my elbow.
"Ow!" he whispered back. "What was that for?"

"Listen, you dingus. Look to our left." I tried to keep my voice low.

"To our left?" Percy slightly turned his head to the side. "Yeah... there's a wall, and a poster of a... woah. Is that Kelly Clarkson?"

I exhaled, irritated. Gods, being a Poseidon kid must have stuffed some algae in his brain when he was born. It would explain a lot.

"Further to the left!" I whisper-yelled, nudging him urgently. Jason would not be able to distract them long.

"Yes, our rights, my dear sir, the very ones that were nobly established in ancient times, and that remain anchored in society's principles-" Jason continued, his voice growing frantic.

"Yeah, I don't see what you mean," Percy continued. "I only see a bathroom, with toilets and showers- oh. Oh."

"Yes, you idiot!" I sighed in relief. Took him some time. "You're our ticket out of here. You do you, Jackson."

The "Peacekeepers" started stirring impatiently, some of them whispering and pointing at us. Soon, they'd figure we were up to something. We needed to act quickly.

"And as Abraham Lincoln once very cleverly said, 'We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.'" Jason claimed, a bead of sweat on his forehead. The hell was he on about? Gods, he was terrible at this.

"Wh-what? Okay, I think your time is over. Peacekeepers, if you may..." The voice started. But we weren't about to let them imprison us again.

"Percy, NOW!" I yelled, and the idiot on my left seemed to react, throwing his arms up in the air and clasping his fists. After a horrible few seconds of suspense, the entire room in a daze of confusion, the atmosphere still, the entire bathroom next to us erupted in a huge wave of surging water.

The tsunami of liquid mixed with broken ceramic, plaster and no-no magazines unfurled violently onto the entire dining room, overturning tables, ruining poker games and knocking down the poor surprised policemen. Everything was soaked, except us three, miraculously untouched, protected by Percy, spreading his arms out in front of us three, shielding us from the wave.

"Wh-what! PRISONERS! Do not move or you will be shot! Guards, stop them!" Fortunately, no one seemed to react, the policemen desperately trying to grab hold onto an object to resist the current.

"Let's get out of here before they come to their senses," exclaimed Jason. "I'm fed up of quoting dead presidents."

At that, we all simultaneously ran towards the door, the water parting in front of our feet, forming a clean path to the exit. I stopped to grab a keycard from a knocked-down Peacekeeper, praying for it to work as I inserted it in the slot.
Fortunately, Tyche seemed to be looking down at us as the light flashed to green, the twin doors sliding open with a welcoming whoosh.

We didn't even wait until the gates were fully open to rush outdoors, not even bothering to look back at the scene we'd caused.
We needed to get out - quick. Soon, police cars and helicopters would be arriving by the dozen.

We were on some kind of parking lot - a few slots were occupied by fancy-looking cars, but mostly it was deserted, the tarmac left to burn under noon's sun. Two policemen were chatting behind a truck, sipping coffee. Spotting us, they fumbled for their weapons, but I didn't even leave them a chance to react.

"Jump into the bushes! Now!!" I commanded urgently, not leaving any space for discussion. They immediately threw their coffee and dived happily away into the shrubs, a stupid grin on their faces.

"Now what do we do?" They asked blankly.

"Make a floral crown!" I yelled back as we rounded a corner. Looking back onto it, I would've loved to witness the scene - two grown policemen, laughing delightedly as they exchanged grass tiaras.

... actually, I'd rather not think of it.

So there we were, Percy, Jason and I, running for our freedom down a dirt road leading into town, the now far-away siren starting to blare behind our backs. We needed to find a crowd, meld in - it was our only way to survive. Then we could figure out a plan and discuss how the fork to get out of here.

Boy, if we had known what the future reserved for us...

_____

Author's Note - May 10th, 2020

Hi there! Hope you've enjoyed this action chapter - fun fact, every part of this scene was improvised as I was writing. Which is definitely not the case of this entire story. Cough.

Anyways, I wanted to talk about this roleplay I found - I figured this would be appropriate, since its Percy Jackson, and besides it's my story so I do what the fork I want with it - I've already posted a quick message about this on my profile, so you can ignore this if you've already read it.

So, as a devoted Percy Jackson fan since age 9, RP has been part of me for a long time; it's a great way to meet awesome people while simultaneously improve your writing skills. Recently, as the PJO fanbase has grown up, me included (unfortunately, I'm no Peter Pan), RP has slowly started to die off over these past years. These days, TikTok or Netflix is often preffered to a good book, and roleplay is a way, as a reader and writer, to keep the art of literature alive.
So, you can imagine my delight upon finding this brand-new Discord server (roleplay started around March)... The location is Camp Half-Blood, and you can either create your own OC or audition as a canon character. So, come find me there! I roleplay as Sam Parker... and don't let the art of roleplay die away 🙏

See ya around! ;-)

https://discord.gg/TkUgh9